FAITHFUL IN TROUBLED TIMES. 2nd Kings 8 The Near and Middle East has always been a hotbed of confusion and bloodshed in the tribes and nations in that area. How wonderful it is of God to choose one of the world's most difficult areas to unfold His truth and grace to mankind. Against the backdrop of idolatry, departure from God on the part of His people, and ongoing conflict among nations, we are given examples of faith and individual consistency in such a place. One of those was a "great" woman of Shunem who opened her home and provided a place for Elisha, the servant of God.
The prophet knew ahead of time that famine was coming on Israel from the hand of God as a covenant curse on them because of national sin. He was concerned for this family, who had shown hospitality and kindness to him. Those serving the Lord have public and personal responsibilities to the Lord's people. It was known throughout the nations of the Middle East that Elisha was a prophet of God. How touching it is that such a famous person would make sure those who cared for him were cared for during times of national calamity. A famine of seven years is a long time to struggle to survive.
There is something unique about showing kindness among all the things we do in a day. You can be sure that some of the blessings shown in acts of kindness inevitably come back, like a handful of sand thrown in the air, blowing some of it back to us. That is because God has a “book of remembrance” [Mal.3:16] that records what the Lord’s people do for each other. The only thing the Lord forgets is our confessed sin [Jer. 31:34].
Perhaps someone had claimed her property while she and her family were away, or the king may have taken the land himself because no one had been there during the famine. Whoever was king at the time of this event must have been a new king who was not aware of the miracles done by the Lord through the prophet Elisha, and it must have been before Gehazi was stricken with leprosy when Naaman came from Syria. As Gehazi recounted the incident of Elisha raising a boy from the dead, the Shunemite woman came asking for her land back.
The elderly husband of the “great” woman of Shunem must have died, and she had to act on her own behalf since she was a widow. “It came to pass” wasn't a coincidence, but God’s timing as He acted to meet the needs of this widow who had shown kindness to God’s servant. She and her son were examples of the Lord providing for those obedient to His word given through the prophet. She had returned to claim what was hers within the seven years allowed legally.
The king of Israel, Joram, seemed to be a man who was unstable in some of his ways. He was angry with Elisha at the same time, he mourned for his people during the famine their evil ways had brought upon them. He could seemingly pass righteous judgment at the same time as making bad decisions.
God's timing of things, whether arranging events or bringing blessings or judgments, is always remarkable. When a need arises, He is there. When we are unsure what to do next, He opens the right door. When there seems to be no solution to a problem, He can use that very thing to fulfill His will. When we come to the place where every door around us seems closed tight, if we "wait upon the Lord," our strength is renewed, and we find instead of an open door, He gives us wings of faith to "mount up with wings as eagles" to go above the obstacles. Then we can "run and not be weary, and walk and not faint."
Elijah, the earlier prophet, had been told to anoint Hazael king of Syria and Jehu king of Israel at the same time. He anointed Elisha to be his successor. He had not been able to do that, so the time had come for Elisha to carry out one of those tasks at Damascus. The sickness of Be-Hadad was not fatal, but with God-given insight, Elisha knew he would die from another cause.
When Elisha stared so long at Hazael, he became uncomfortable and expressed his embarrassment. With prophetic foresight, Elisha saw what the atrocities of Hazel would bring on the people of Israel. This event in no way sanctioned what Hazael would do but simply described what would happen after this “nobody” assassinated the king of Syria. He would lead the Arameans to commit terrible acts of violence against Israelites from the wickedness of his own heart.
We learn that God does not limit Himself to working only with His people. All nations and kings of the world are under His sovereign control. The Syrian king was told he would recover from his illness but that he would die. That was not a contradiction because even though his illness was not terminal, his own servant Hazael murdered him and usurped the throne of Syria. The weeping prophet could see how the Lord would use this heartless man to judge His people for their sinfulness. As much as it saddens us to know there are serious consequences for sin, we realize that God is just and righteous in all He does. Sin left unjudged leads to increasingly wicked people.
Whether Jehoshaphat knew the kind of woman he chose for his son to marry is unknown. But he should have known the kind of person a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel would be. Parents need to seek to help their children make the right choices in the important things of life. The person our offspring marries will bring the influences of their upbringing with them into the marriage. We can expect our son or daughter to be influenced for good or bad by their spouse. Athaliah was an evil influence on Joram, the son of Jehoshaphat, and the evil influence she brought to the marriage affected the nation of Judah. That marriage may have been politically advantageous but also spiritually deadly.
During that time, Esau's descendants, the Edomites, turned against the Jews of Judah. Jehoram of Judah began as a co-regent with Jehoshaphat, his father. When he was on his own in leadership and under the evil influence of his wife, he took the people of God farther away from the Lord. Yet the Lord spared them because He respected them for the sake of their forefather, David. We may not realize it then, but the influence of our heritage preserves us from the consequences of evil. To despise one's heritage invites personal judgment to fall on us. God respects our forebearers and allows us to survive and prosper at times because of their faithfulness to Him and the ongoing influence of a good name and trustworthy family reputation.
In an incident similar to Jehoshaphat joining Ahab (his two grandfathers) in a war against the Arameans, Amaziah joined his brother-in-law to do the same thing. Like Ahab was wounded and died, Joram was wounded, but he did not die at that time. When Ahaziah led the people of Judah after Jehoram of Judah died, he joined Joram of Israel in a war against the Syrians under Hazael's leadership. Joram, the king of Israel, was wounded in that battle at Ramoth-Gilead east of the Jordan River. He returned to Jezreel in Israel to recover from his wounds, and Azariah, the new king of Judah, visited him there.
Spiritual confusion and defeat follows a decision made to maintainleadership based on familu bloodlines rather than spiritual character and reputation. The Holy Spirit raises up leaders in the assemblies of God’s people based on spiritual wisdom, discernmet, obedience to the word of God, and commitment to the Lord and His people. Just because those whom God chooses to lead the saints are of the same family does not qualify or disqualify them from the responsibility of divine appointment. Spiritual qualifications will be seen by the Lord’s people who are strengthened and nourished by the labor, care, and love of godly leaders whoever they are.
It was there that "payday" came for both kings. We may think we must live with and accommodate the increasing evil around us, but this is untrue. "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse," but we are to continue to practice what we have been taught and learned from those trustworthy servants of God before us.
It is not in our power to stop the evil that is going on nor to control the outcome. But it is in our power to commit ourselves to live for our Lord despite what others may do. The view we have to keep before us, which motivates us to righteous living and faithful service, is to look at our Lord Jesus Christ and see what He has done for us. He has commissioned us to carry forth His Gospel to the world and to teach His people. He has promised to be with us to the end of the age no matter what may happen around us. He has promised to come and receive us to Himself at the time of His Father's choosing. Given this, we must be faithful to Him in these troubled times.
It came for a reason: this great, lasting hunger that famine brings. Seven years is a long time, but it won’t last longer than God allows to bring about His sovereign purposes. God called for the famine because the nation He had covenanted with had turned from Him. It seems like famine should begin in our nation because of the blatant disregard of God and His word by so many. We have done the same things—turned away from the Lord, put to death millions of unborn children, and disregarded what the word of God says in our religious practices.
Many have changed their thoughts about God by ignoring His sovereign authority as the Creator and even denying His existence. God is often talked about as only some kind of force that can briefly be called upon if we want to change the course of events to suit us or to blame if the outcome of our choices isn’t what we wanted.
Not every famine is the result of a scarcity of food. A spiritual famine is caused by neglect of God’s Word, denying God's claims on us, and willfully doing things our way. The needed recovery will only come when there is a return to God and dealing with the original problem when we spurned God's will. To avoid times of famine, there must be genuine trust in the Lord despite what is convenient or pleasing to us. Correcting what is wrong is an absolute necessity. It means there will be times of true repentance and real turning from sin. God waits for evidence of reality before recovery begins.
Some things cannot be faked—there must be a reality before we can be fully trusted. When proven trustworthy, God will grant the things He has planned for us to do for Him. There will be a change of attitude toward God and sin. When a famine of any kind comes, it is wise to stop and seek out what is wrong. Take the time to consider why there are tears and doubt instead of faith and hope. Make every effort to be sure to change what caused the famine. It will take time and humility to examine the past and decide what God’s will is and how to do it in the future.